But he continued on. He apologized, explained they were jokes made during a different part of his life.

And he won.

His first legislative amendment proposal as a senator – to bar the Pentagon from hiring contractors that require workers to sign a clause saying they won't sue if they're raped – caught The Daily Show's attention.

His rise to true political stardom wouldn't come until 2017 however, after President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office. It was in cabinet nominee hearings Franken was able to pair his knack for snappy, succinct messaging with his dogged obsession with lies big or small.

When Franken leaves office, he'll step away from a position that a decade ago – based on his background, his questionable jokes, the first round of vote counting – it looked like he never had a chance of holding anyway.